Nude Youth Seated Before Curtain

While instructional texts on representing the human figure existed in Rembrandt’s time, the artist preferred to work from live models. The same year he created this etching, he brought models into his studio so that his students would benefit from direct observation of the human form. Live models reflected Rembrandt’s preference for depicting ordinary people in his work, in contrast to the heroic, idealized figures used by his predecessors.

Rembrandt’s ability to depict the solid volume of human form is evident in this print. To highlight the subject, Rembrandt has set the young man against a darkened background composed of a combination of scribbled marks and dense parallel hatching, indicating the speed at which he moved the etching needle. While these marks may appear somewhat random, notice how Rembrandt strategically overlapped various layers of line to suggest areas of depth and shadow.